PARENTS’ NOOK
Play Space Guidelines
“There can be no keener revelation of society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”
Nelson Mandela.
WHO WE ARE
Families need open-ended childcare and accessible resources that are an integrated part of their community. We need environments where our kids can flourish. Parents are struggling to balance work and parenting. Basic human needs -- connection, security, community -- are going unmet.
Through Nooks, we are working to create the change needed in our community to introduce open-ended play spaces and care spaces for parents.
We are a network of parents, educators, play advocates, space collaborators, technologists, researchers, community organizers, and artists trying to create the world we believe in. We believe these care spaces are essential to the survival and well-being of parents and children. These micro-communities would enable each community to design the circles in its own way, encompassing our common set of beliefs. This would generate local coordination, trust, and employment in the local community.
Two groups in one space:
• Parents’ work/relax space: building and supporting our community, getting some work done, focus on reading or stretching, etc.
• Children’s play space: Children play with open-ended materials supervised by a play facilitator. We create what Magda Gerber described as a “yes” space where children are respected and feel safe to explore.
PLAY SPACE GUIDELINES
We have basic trust on the children to initiate, explore and learn what they can from their experiences. In play, children learn about themselves in relation to their environment, which includes awareness of those around them. Practice in problem-solving, compromise and conflict resolution is an experience gained during free play. Development of imaginative play leads to critical thinking skills in later years. Balance and movement skills, coordination and language are also developed as the children engage in self-directed play.
Our goal is to make the Nook’s play environment a sanctuary for children--a peaceful, uncluttered and protected space where their imagination and creativity will flourish. An environment that allows children to do what they would naturally do. Simple natural objects and open ended toys provide opportunities for play and give the children real and true impressions that will nourish their senses. Imagination is the young child’s special talent and their natural way of learning.
Children need freedom to explore and interact to other children. Free play is the child’s work, and the way through which they learn about life and the world around them. In this way, free play is a sacred time; they need to be allowed the space and time to learn about socializing, taking turns, taking risks, building relationships and resolving conflicts. All of these elements are explored during free play. We offer natural, open-ended toys that allow creativity to flourish.
We divide the space into two groups according to developmental age:
• Infants and toddlers: approx.Six to two years old.
• Children: approx. two to six years old.
Play Facilitator Attitudes:
1. We give the child our full attention. The play facilitators disconnect from the wider world and focus their attention on the child in front of them. We turn off our phones and let go of all our personal problems in order to be present with the children. When we give our full attention to the children, the message we send is “I care about you”.
2. Slowing down. When we supervise play we are relaxed, calm, and we enjoy every moment with reverence. We strive to never be in a hurry. We go slowly. We try to encourage the children to do things by themselves. We are patient, and we wait. The message is “We are doing this together, and you are helping.”
3. We always go down to the child’s level, and trying to make eye contact. We never talk to them from afar, from standing position or to their backs.
4. We always tell the child what we are going to do, before we do it.
5. Observe quietly and listen attentively. The play facilitators observe carefully to understand the child’s needs. The more we observe, the more we understand and appreciate the children around us. We become more humble and we teach and interfere less. (see Observation Guidelines) We believe that every child is capable of initiating play. This trust influences how we interact with the children. To paraphrase Magda Gerber, we observe more and participate less. We are calm and quiet, and do not interrupt unless necessary. It is important to fill the space with a peaceful attitude and to allow the children to experience silence and consequently, focus deeper in their play.
6. Positive guidance
Our goal is to be proactive in preventing behavioral problems.We want to support the healthy development of self-discipline and self-care within a safe and loving environment. We have realistic expectations of the children, and help model that making mistakes is okay and are how we learn. The play facilitators strive to model ideal behavior through our interactions with each other, the children, and with you, dear parents and caregivers. We will communicate with you regarding any specific incidents that occur or any general concerns that we may have.
We interfere as little as possible with their play and work. This supports the development of the children’s will capacities, and lets them develop essential social skills. The play facilitator always intervenes when there is a safety issue, and helps to guide the children and to empower them to develop capacities to solve conflicts.
We never shame the children about their behavior. Even when we intervene, we do so respectfully, and guide them towards more appropriate behaviors. We also strive to have each and every child heard when there is an altercation; and there will be altercations! Young children are still learning how to use their words and how to understand their own feelings enough to be able to say what they need in the moment. This will definitely come with time, but there will be moments when your child is grabbing instead of asking for a turn, or reacting in an undesirable way because they are asking for their needs to be met in the only way they know how. The play facilitators will stay very close to the children and watch over them to be proactive in guiding them in word and deed to solve the inevitable conflicts that will arise.
We guide the children through gestures, respectful language, using a calm, even tone of voice, and save “no” for moments when someone is about to be harmed. We tell the children what they may do rather than focusing on what we do not want them to do. Instead of telling the children to tell a friend “I’m sorry”, we give them opportunities to help the child they hurt by offering a gentle touch, or simply telling the friend that they will be more careful next time. We acknowledge the children’s emotions, feelings, and ideas. For instance, “You are crying, are you sad?” “Do you want the ball back?”, “Sometimes it is hard to say goodbye.” We accept all emotions and do not judge children for their emotions, actions and behaviors.
If you have questions/suggestions, we would be happy to learn more, drop us a line play@parents-nook.com
You might learn more about us here: https://parents-nook.ghost.io/